THE 



Source of the Mississippi 



COMPRISING 



I. LETTER FROM MESSRS. lYISON. BLAKEMAN, 
TAYLOR, & COMPANY 



II. REPORT OF HOPEWELL CLARKE, CHIEF OF THE I. B. T. & CO. 
EXPEDITION TO THE HEADWATERS OF THE 
^ MISSISSIPPI, OCTOBER, 1886 



Reprinted from Science (December 24, 1886) 



IVISON, BLAKEMAN & COMPANY 
New York and Chicago 



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NEW YORK AND CHICAGO. 



AN IMPORTANT NEW BOOK. 



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IVISON, BLAKEMAN & COMPANY, Publishers, 



NEW YORK AND CHICAGO. 



THE 



Source of the Mississippi 



COMPRISIJSIG 



I. LETTER FROM MESSRS. IVISON, BLAKEMAN, 
TAYLOR, & COMPANY 



II. REPORT OF HOPEWELL CLARKE, CHIEF OF THE I. B. T. k CO 

EXPEDITION TO THE HEADWATERS OF THE 

MISSISSIPPI, OCTOBER, 1886 



t«(*t. 



Reprinted from Science (December 24, 1886) y o^ ^' 

J til I' 






IVISON, BLAKEMAN, TAYLOR, & COMPANY 

New York and Chicago 



Tn Exeh. 

NOTE. 

In presenting the following papers to the Educational public we have a personal word to say. 
Our field of publication is especially educational, and it is in that field that we feel a peculiar 
responsibility for the truth of what we put forward. 

Captain Glazier might have gone on to tlie end of his days writing apochryphal reminiscences 
of the war and we would have had nothing to say ; he might have told all sorts of imaginary 
stories of adventure on the plains, and along the rivers of our continent, and it would have been 
none of our business ; he niiglit have lectured himself into fame and fortune without a word of 
protest from us. But wlien he began to pervert the history and distort the geography of our 
continent to gratify his ignorant conceits and base ambitions, it began to come witliin our range; 
and when he and his agents attempted to corrupt the scliool text-book literature of the day, and 
tried to induce us to falsify our publications, it became very much our business ; and we propose 
that, so far as our voice can reach, lie shall not put forth his shameless falsities without an 
unqualified denial and an indignant protest from us. 

Mr. Clarke has wisely confined his report strictly to the field work which he undertook to 
do, l)ut we cannot close this note without referring to the profound contempt which, as an lionest, 
conscientious explorer, lie feels for tlie charlatan adventurer who attempted to steal the laurels 
from the brows of Schoolcraft, Nicollet, and a dozen other brave men in order to win a little 
glory for himself. 

We have no word of criticism or reflection for those who have been duped by Captain 
Glazier, and we offer the results of our exploration lor the free use of all our fellow publishers 
in the educational field. 

753-755 Broadway, New York. IVISON, BLAKEMAN, TAYLOR & CO. 



THESOURCEOFTHE MISSISSIPPI: 

COMPRISING, 

1. Letter from Messrs. Ivison, Rlakeman. Taylor, & Co. 

II. Report of Hopewell Clarke, Chief of the I. B. T. & Co. F^xpedition 
to the Head Waters of the Mississippi, October, 1886. 



{Reprinted, with additional maps, from Science, December 24, 1886.) 



/. LETTER FROM MESSRS. IVISON, 
BLAKEMAN, TAYLOR, & CO. 

The readers of Science will recall our announce- 
ment a. few weeks ago, of the despatch of an ex- 
ploring party to the head waters of the Missis- 
sippi River to examine and locate all the streams 
and lakes tributary to Lake Itasca. Our explorers 
have now accomplished their task, and we have 
received from them a detailed report, and a map 
of the entire I'egion, which includes the basin of 
Lake Itasca. 

This map, which we have engraved on the 
scale of about one mile to the inch, divided into 
sections corresponding with the U. S. land-office 
surveys, is presented herewith. Other maps are 
also presented for the fuller explanation of the 
details of the report. 

FORMER SURVEYS. 

Preliminary to the report, it is proper that we 
should make some statement of the considera- 
tions which led to the despatch of this party. 
There have been a number of explorations and 
excursions to the head waters of the Mississippi 
during the present century. Of these, we have a 
more or less accurate record of the trip of Mor- 
rison in 1804 ; of Schoolcraft in 1832 ; of Nicollet 
in 1836 ; of Charles Lanman in 1846 ; of the Ayers 
in 1849 ; of William Bungo in 1865 ; of Julius 
Chambers in 1873; of A. H. Siegfried and his 
party in 1879 ; of W. E. Neal in 1880 and again in 
1881 ; of Rev. J. B. GilHllan and Professor Cooke 
in May, 1881 ; and of Captain Glazier in July, 1881. 
We also have tliemaps of the government survey- 
ors wlio spent two weeks in this township in Sep- 
tember and October, 1875, and the paper of Mr. 
O. E. Garrison, contributed by him to the tenth 



annual report of the State geological survey of 
Minnesota, for the year 1880. 

NATURE OF FORMER SURVEYS. 

Of these explorers, we know that Nicollet care- 
fully explored all the feeders of Lake Itasca ; that 
Chambers explored Elk Lake, which he called 
Lake Dolly Varden ; and that Messrs. Gilfillan, 
Cooke, and Garrison, proceeding from the south, 
also visited the sources of the lake lying in that 
direction. Therefore, as to the general facts re- 
garding the size and character of the basin of the 
lake, we did not hope to add any considerable 
amount of information to that already possessed. 
But of all these parties of explorers and survey- 
ors, it is safe to say, that, with the exception of 
Nicollet and the government land-office survey- 
ors, there has been little attempt at accurate inves- 
tigation. Only these two have added any thing 
material to what Schoolcraft told the world in 
1883. It is well, therefore, to note the difference 
in methods, of these two principal explorations of 
the Itasca basin. 

NICOLLET'S SURVEY. 

"Nicollet was a trained scientist, but he worked 
under limitations ; and very sensibly, also, with a 
limited and definite pui'pose. His work was 
mainly done alone, and his chief instruments 
were the thermometer, the barometer, the sex- 
tant, and the compass. Hence he gives us details 
of temperature, elevation, latitude, longitude, and 
the general direction of the parts he visited. He 
rarely used the chain — if, indeed, he carried such 
a piece of property. His details of distance were 
either estimated — as in the case of a day's tramp 
or of an object within sight — or figured out by 
mathematical rules, as when he computed the 



REPORT OF THE I. B T. & CO. EXPLORATION 



length of a section of the river from the data of 
the latitude, longitude, and the direction from 
each other of a given number of points in its 
course. Hence his outline of the course of a 
river or creek, or of the form of a lake or pond, 
was only as accm-ate as might be ex])ected from 
a trained explorer, whose eye was accustomed to 
take in and measure distance, direction, and form, 
on a large scale, and under a thousand varying 




FAC-SIMILE TRACING OF 

PAET OF GLAZTEH'S LATEST MAP, 

18 so. 

Also ■howInK positlon.of Lake Glailer on Captain 
Glazier's map, publjsheJ In 1884. 

APPROXIMATE SCALE OF M1LE9 



conditions. In the matter of general relief forms, 
and the general trend and drainage of the country, 
he was, without doubt, the best equipped and 
most competent single explorer who has under- 
taken the study of our country ; and his work has 
been of inestimable value to hundreds of thou- 
sands who never heard of his name. So far as 
relates to the subdivision of areas, and the survey- 
ing and platting of the surface of the land, con- 



sidered as a horizontal plane, his work did not 
profess to have any accuracy or value whatever. 

THE GOVERNMENT SURVEY. 

" On the other hand, this last is the chief, if not 
the only, object of the government land surveyors. 
Their instructions are limited and specific. They 
take no note whatever of relief forms : they fol- 
low up and trace only the streams and jjonds in- 
tercepted by the boundary-lines of sections. In 
the matter of horizontal area, in the meandering 
of lakes and navigable streams, and in the general 
platting of the land, they are proverbially reli- 
able ; but there is absolutely no account taken of 
elevation, and the drainage or trend of the land 
can only be inferred from the course and direc- 
tion of the streams encountered in running <he 
section lines. 

" Nicollet's exploration was made in 1836, be- 
fore a surveyor's stake had been set within the 
limits of Minnesota. The government surveyors 
of 1875 perhaps never heard of Nicollet, and cer- 
tainly had no thought of supplementing or verify- 
ing his work." 

glazier's various claims. 

In addition to the discrepancy noted above, an- 
other element of uncertainty has been introduced 
by the effort to maintain the claims of Captain 
Glazier as the discoverer of a new lake, unknown 
before his visit to the Itasca region in 1881. In 
order to maintain this claim, it is necessary to set 
aside entirely the map of NicoUet, to discredit the 
work of the government surveyors, and to ignore 
Garrison, Siegfried, Gilfillan, and every other ex- 
plorer who has been to this region during the last 
half -century. With a dozen trustworthy jiarties 
on one side, maintaining the general accuracy of 
Nicollet and the government laud-office map, and 
with (vaptain Glazier and his friends alone on the 
other side, it was not difficult to decide where the 
truth lay. But as no one had yet attempted to 
make an accurate survey of the topographical 
features of this region in the light of a govern- 
ment survey, and as Nicollet's work was simply 
topographical, without any attempt at accurate 
platting of areas, there was plenty of room for 
Captain Glazier, or any one else who chose, to 
come in and advance all sorts of claims. If, as 
was claimed by Mr. Pearce Giles on behalf of Cap- 
tain Glazier, there was found three or four miles 
south of Lake Itasca another tributary lake, two 
miles long and a mile and a half wide, this cer- 
tainly could not be Elk Lake, or any other lake 
laid down in the government survey. But if, as 
described by another of his friends, Captain Gla- 



OF THE SOUliCK OF THE MISSItiSIPPI RIVKR. 



zier's lake was less than half a mile south of Lake 
Itasca, it was undoubtedly Elk Lake, — tho same 
that Nicollet shows, with it-i three feeders, on his 
n)ap deposited in (he office of engineers at Wash- 
ington, — the same that Chambers visited and 
named Dolly Varden in 1873, — the same that tlie 
government surveyors accurately outlined and 
named Elk Lake in 1875, — the same that the Rev. 
Mr. GilfiHan and Professor Cooke explored and 
nameil Lake Breck in May, 1881. 

VALUE OF PUBLIC RECORDS INVOLVED. 

But it was not simply to prove or disprove tlu> 
truth of Captain Glazier's claim, that we made 
this effort at an accurate topographical survey of 
this region. Nic<jllet has furnished us with a 
map and a report of his explorations of the sources 
of tho Mississippi, and these explorations iiave 
been a matter of history for fifty years. His 
maps have been public documents, accessible to 
everybody ; and we believe, that, if his work is to 
be discredited, it should only be after the most 
careful and accurate survey. The government 
surveyors also were charged with having entirely 
overlooked a lake of more than a square mile in 
extent, lying several miles south of Lake Itasca. 
If these government officers are not to be relied 
upon to give us accurate maps and honest service, 
it is time that the people should know it ; it is time 
that geographers and map-makers should know 
it ; and we knew of no way so satisfactory as a 
careful review of the work, both of Nicollet and 
of the government surveyors. And this review 
afforded us an opportunity to correct the one by 
the other, in case they were each reasonably cor- 
rect in their respective fields of work. 

VALUE OF THE GOVERNMENT SURVEYS. 

We are glad to be able to report that the most 
careful running of the lines of the government 
siu-veyors have proved the almost absolute accu- 
racy of their work. Our explorers were also able 
to detect and to account for some interesting minor 
inaccuracies of the land-office plat of this town- 
ship ; but it was well worth the making of the 
error to discover the remarkable natural phe- 
nomenon whereby this was fully explained. We 
refer to the underground passage of the stream 
on the section line between sections 21 and 22, by 
which the government surveyors were deceived, 
and led into thinking that the stream did not pass 
out of section 23 at all, but kept north through the 
western part of that section. 

VALUE OF NICOLLET'S WORK. 

It is also a cause of satisfaction to find the sub- 
stantial accuracy of Nicollet's report and map of 



tliis region. There are, it is true, manifest dis- 
crepancies between his lines and those of the 
government survey. Lake Itasca is nmch broader, 
Elk Lake much smaller, proportionally on his 
map than on the map of the government survey, 
and tho latter is found to he correct. A large 
share of this variation is due to the fact that 
Nicollet made his surveys by the eye entirely, and 
many of hi) drawings of the course of the streams 
and the contour of lakes were made upon birch- 



SKETCH MAP 

OF THE 

ITASCA LAIiE REGION 



Jailius CliamTaei's. 

1872. 




bark, and onl}- transferred to paper afterwards. 
But beside this explanation, our explorers also 
found reason to believe that Itasca Lake was at 
one time several inches higher than it is now ; and 
if, on the other hand, Elk Lake was once of a 
lower level than now, the two coming together 
would account for the difference in form they 
exhibited in 1836, as compared with their present 
outlines. 



6 



REPORT OF THE I. B. T. & CO. EXPLORATION 



According to Mr. Gilfillan, the Indians called 
Elk Lake, Gabukegurnag, which means, ' water 
which juts off to one side ' of another lake ; that 
is, branches or projects out from it like a finger 
from a hand. This would indicate, that, when 
this name was given to it, Elk Lake was simply 
an arm or bay putting out from Lake Itasca, and 
that with the filling-up of the channel between 
the two, and the lowering of the level of Itasca, 
the difference in level, which amounts to only 



LAKE ITASCA 

AND VICINITY 
From Capt. Glazier^a large map. 




thirteen inches, contributed to make the one lake 
distinct from the other, and a feeder to it. 

RESULTS OK TIUS SURVEY. 

We may briefly sum up the results of this ex- 
ploration to be : — 

1. Tlie confirming of the sub.stantial accuracy of 

the government survey. 

2. The proof of the general correctness of Nicol- 

let's report and map. 

3. Nicollet's creek is still by far the largest afflu- 

ent of Itasca, con iriba ting about three-fourths 
of the regular perennial inflow of water. 

4. It can be traced beyond the point to whicli 

Nicollet followed it to the lake that heads in 
section 34, Tp. 143 N., R. 36 W. 5th meridian; 
and at this point it is 92 feet above the level 
of Lake Itasca. 



.">. Following its windings, it is also the longest 
tributary of Lake Itasca ; and therefore, 

fi. As the largest and longest tributary stream, 
and the one most elevated in its source, it is 
entitled to be called the upper course of the 
Mississippi. 

7. Considerable changes have taken place in the 
nature of the streams in this region since the 
exploration of Nicollet, but these are all 
easily accounted for by natural causes. 

S. The principal tributaries of Lake Itasca are fed 
by springs, artesian in their character, which 
have their reservoirs in the strata of the hills, 
and in lakes and jionds probably miles to the 
south and west. 

9. There is no large lake directly tributary to Lake 
Itasca, five, four, three, or two miles, or even 
one mile south of that lake ; and Elk Lake, 
whose shore is only a stone's throw from 
Itasca (350 feet), is the only tributary lake 
within the Itasca basin "vhich has an area of 
more than 40 acres. 

10. Elk Lake, with its feeders, is clearly shown 

on Nicollet's map of 1836-37. Its position is 
more accurately given than on Glazier's 
map ; its distance from Itasca is much neai-er 
to truth ; and as to its size, Nicollet has 
drawn it about as much too small as Glazier 
drew it too large. 

11. Captain Glazier has added nothing to what 

Nicollet's map presents to us. On the other 
hand, 

12. Glazier shows us nothing of Nicollet's cieek 
. which is the main tributary of Itasca ; 

nothing of the eastern feeder of Ellc Lake, 
which is the main source of its waters ; 
nothing whatever that is not misleading and 
worse than w^orthless. 

SOME FACTS REGARDING GLAZIER'S MAP. 

But what is the use of seriously going over this 
subject? Whatever of merit or accuracy thsre is 
in Captain Glazier's map is not in the slightest 
degree due to any thing done by him, or to any 
erudition possessed by his guide, Che-no- wa-ge-sic. 
His map. as he has published it, was drawn and 
engraved by Mr. G. Wool worth Colton of this 
city, and was made as near like the govern- 
ment surveys as Captain Glazier would permit. 
The public will never be allowed to gaze 
upon the miserable travesty on geography and 
map-making which Glazier took to Mr. Colton 
to be doctored up and put in shape. But 
it will be interested to read Mr. Colton's 
account of how he became the innocent acces- 
sory of the Glazier fraud. The following is an 



OF THE SOURCE OF THE MTSSISSTPPr RTVEli. 



extract from a published letter of Mr. Colton, to 
be found in the Aineincan canoeist for November, 
1886: — 

" When Glazier came to me in the fall of 1883 
with his very rough maji, to talk of his claim and 
to give us the geographical data for adding his 
streams and lake to our maps, I saw at once that 
he was claiming what did not belong to him, and 
so told him. Then I refeiTcd to my copj' of U. S. 
land surveys (of which I copy every one that 
enters the general land-office in Washington, on a 
scale of one mile to one inch, with my own hand), 
and showed him, under date of March 20, 187(5, 
my copy of sectionized plats, covering not only 
the region referred to, Nos. 142 and 143, N. R., 
36 W., 5th Pm. mer., but all the rest of the area 
covered by his route to aiid from the lake. He 
expressed surprise at the facts shown him, and 
said he regretted exceedingly that he had not 
known them before he went, for such maps would 
have helped him greatly in determining many 
questions of geography, etc. He concluded to 
have his maps engraved, and requested me to add 
some things and correct others, such as the form, 
and proportion of lakes, etc., and to make more 
general resemblance to facts, only he insisted on 
having what he calls Lake Glazier much larger 
than the rneandered exhibits on the L. O. plats. 
The result of my attempts to improve his draught 
was to make the resemblance to facts greater, 
and at the same time, as now appears, to give 
greater strength to his claim of exploitation, and 
to accurate knowledge on the part of his guide." 

SOME FACTS REGARDING QhAZlEB.. 

And now, finally, to settle once for all the 
worth of Captain Glazier's claim, Mr. Bartlett 
Channing Paine comes into court, and, as staters 
evidence, gives the following testimony in a recent 
interview in the St. Paul Pioneer press : — 

'• I wanted to avoid this controversy, but I sup- 
'pose I might as well tell you whatever I can. 
Yes, I accompanied Mr. Glazier on his journey at 
a stipulated salary per week. I went along to 
write up the incidents of the trip. I suppose 
Mr. Glazier's object in taking me along was to 
give a more extended notoriety through what 
matter I might furnish the press. When we left 
for the starting-point of our journey, our objec- 
tive point was Lake Itasca. Glazier had no idea 
of exploring any lake beyond that point. The 
idea first entered his head when we were part 
way between Brainerd and Leech Lake. There 
we met an old man who told us that Itasca was 
not the farthest lake, and that there was another 
one a little beyond Itasca. Glazier then began 
inquiring among the Indians, and he finally 
found one who seemed to know all about this 
lake. He had, according to his story, grown 
potatoes on the bank of the lake. That settled 
it : so Captain Glazier decided to see this lake. We 
struck Lake Itasca about halfway up the south- 



east arm, and paddled to Schoolcraft's Island. 
Next day we made our camp a short distance from 
the end of the south-west arm to the lake that the 
Indians had tcld us about. Glazier was greatly 
delighted with the lake. We sailed around it till 
we came to the promontory shown in the map. 
There the captain made a great speech about the 
discovery of the source of the Mississippi. When 
he finished his speech, I, on a suggestion previous- 
ly made by him, proposed that the lake be named 
'Lake Glazier.' The third member joined in the 
suggestion, as did the Indians. That night we 
began our return journey, and when we reached 
St. Paul I went up and examined the charts in the 
surveyor-general's office to see if the lake was an 
actual discovery. I found it was on the govern- 
ment maps, but I did not tell Glazier. Why ? Oh, 
well, I thought I would let him think he had 
made a discovery. I accompanied him to the 
Gulf of Mexico. He had no more claim to the 
discovery than you have. Mr. Glazier recently 
wrote to me, asking if I had any objections to his 
using my signature to a few communications to 
certain newspapers or magazines. I replied that I 
had. There has since appeared an article in the 
December number of Outing on the subject of this 
controversy. It had my name attached, but I 
don't know by whom it was written. I didn't 
write it. In Mr. Glazier s recent letter I see that 
he puts forth the statement that the lake was 
named ' Lake Glazier' contrary to his wishes, and 
that he desired the Indian name * Pokegama.' 
That statement is not true. The captain was not 
only anxious, but extremely solicitou?, that the 
lake should be named ' Lake Glazier.' Captain 
Glazier took no observations at Elk Lake. He had 
no instruments with him." 

THE NAME OF ELK LAKE. 

As to the name of Elk Lake, the former sur- 
veyor-general of Minnesota, who had charge of 
the government land-office at St. Paul, states, 
that, acting in accordance with his general in- 
structions from the government, he called it Elk 
Lake, in order to retain the designation origi- 
nally used by the Indians for the larger lake, 
which Schoolcraft named Itasca. We certainly 
think that the official designation should stand. 

It wiU be noted that the map shows parts of 
two adjoining townships. The six eastern sections 
(square miles) are in township 143 N., range 35 
W., and the other thirty sections are in township 
143 N., range 36 W., 5th principal meridian. 

CONCLUSION. 

It only remains for us to say that we can most 
thoroughly vouch for the care and accuracy with 
which this exploration has been made. Mr. Hope- 
well Clarke, the chief of the part}', has long been 
one of the most experienced and capable land ex- 
plorers of the N. P. R. R. Co. In this service ho 



REPORT OF THE J. B. T. & CO. EXPLORATION 




THE ITASCA T.AKE KEGION, REDUCED FUOM THE OFFICIAL PLATS IN TUE tJ. S. GENERAL LAND-OFFICK, WASUINGTON, T1. C, 

AS StTRVEYED IN SEPTEMBER-OCTOBEB, 1875. 



has spent years in inspecting the timber, and 
verifying the work of the government surveyors 
throughout the immense land-grant of that com- 
pany. We placed at his disposal every instrument 
for an accurate determination of elevations, levels, 
and drainage, which could be desired for the most 
complete execution of his work. He had in his 
party two capable assistants ; and we place the 
record of their exploration before the public, satis- 
fied that it is the conscientious work of the very 
best men whom we could command for the im- 
portant task whicli we undertook to accomplish. 
IvisoN, Blakeman, Taylor, & Co, 



11. THE REPORT. 

Messrs. Ivison, Blakeman, Taylor, & Co. 
753 Broadway, New York. 

Gentlemen, — I herewith submit my report of 
the trip to the head waters of the Mississippi, un- 
dertaken in your interest in the month of October 
last. Among the causes of delay in forwarding 
this paper, were my sickness immediately after 
my return from Itasca ; the great quantity of facts 
contained in my field notes, which I desired to 
condense as much as possible ; some mishaps 
which always enter more or less into such under- 



OF Tllh: SOURCE OF THE MISSISSIPPI lUVER. 




THE ITASCA LAKE REGION, AS SURVEYED BY HOPEWELL CLARKE, CHIEF OF THE I. B. T. & CO. EXPEDITION, OCTOBER, 1886. 



takings ; and a great pressure of regular work in 
the line of mj daily duties consequent upon my 
absence and illness. 

The route which I selected for my trip was by 
N. P. R. R. to Motley ; thence by wagon to Cat 
River and stage to Park Rapids ; and the balance 
of the way by wagon to the south-eastern arm of 
Lake Itasca. 

COMPANY AND EQUIPMENT. 

The company consisted of three persons, — one a 
trained land-explorer, a second to serve as driver 
and general assistant, and myself as the leader 
of the party. I had originally planned taking 



others with me ; but I am satisfied, tiiat, with the 
amount of work we had to do, it would have 
taken twice as long with help not accustomed to 
the woods, and I am afraid we would have killed 
a green man, travelling and working as we did. 
So, though at first I was disappointed at the loss 
of one or two whom I had expected to have with 
me, I am satisfied that the party would not have 
been better made up than as it was. 

In the matter of equipment for measurements 
and for observations, we had the following : 
pocket-sextant, aneroid barometer, drainage-level, 
Locke's hand-level, thermometers, surveyor's com- 
pass and chain, levelling-rod, pocket-compasses. 



10 



REPORT OF THE I. B. T. & CO. EXPLORATION 



FIRST IMPRESSIONS. 

We arrived at the south-eastern arm of Lake 
Itasca at noon on the 13th of October, and after 
taking dinner embarked at once for the soutli- 
western arm, which we proposed to make the 
centre of our operations. We approaclied this 
portion of the lake with considerable curiosity, 
and as we drew near our journey's end we stopped 
a few moments to admire the scene before us. 

Directly in front, a small, bare, mound-like ele- 
vation or knoll rises from the edge of Lake Itasca 
near the centre of an open space of about ten 
acres between it and Elk Lake. The inlet of the 
principal stream flowing into Lake Itasca is seen 
on the right, and the outlet of Elk Lake comes in 
at the left, of the knoll. We are looking south- 
ward ; and to the right the shore of the lake is 
lined with pine, while the left shore and all the 
upper (southern) end is bordered with tamarack, 
except the open sjiace in front, which is bare ex- 
cept for a few bushes and some rice-grass. The 
Height of Land is in plain view two miles and 
a half to the south ; and between these hills and 
the knoll there is a peculiar light familiar 
to woodsmen, which indicates an opening 
or water beyond. It is a striking scene. There 
is nothing like it anywhere else on the shores 
of Itasca. And while looking at it, our thoughts 
went back to the time Nicollet was there; and 
we could not but reflect that Francis Brunet, 
or Kegwedzissag, his Indian guide, would call 
his attention to it, and no doubt they landed and 
explored Elk Lake before they went in any other 
direction. The moment we saw this open country 
between the lakes, we were satisfied that no man 
accustomed to the wilderness, certainly no ex- 
plorer of NicoUet's experience, no guide as trained 
as his Indian was, could go there on the business on 
which they were engaged, and miss seeing Elk 
Lake, unless he were blind. 

As night was rapidly approaching, we landed, 
and selected a place for camp in (he open space 
between the two lakes ; and while one of my as- 
sistants was busy pitching camp, and the other 
prepared supper, I employed the time till dark un- 
packing and adjusting my instruments, and plan- 
ning the work for the following days. In all, we 
spent five days exploring and surveying the basin 
of Itasca. Wherever there Avas especial care and 
detail required, we gave our best and most dili- 
gent efforts lo the work, and I believe there is no 
material point regarding the sources of the feed- 
ers of Lake Itasca which is not covered by this 
report. 

In presenting the results of our work during 
our stay at Lake Itasca, I shall not attempt to re- 



port the operations of each day, but rather state 
the general conclusions and facts obtained from 
the thorough exploration of every part of the 
basin of the lake. 

THE HEIGHTS OF LAND. 

In following the heights of land which form 
the southern boundary of the basin of Lake 
Itasca, the general trend of the crest is from 
north-west to south-east ; but it takes a course al- 
most directly east after striking the north-east 
quarter of section 33, as shown on the map. Ifc 
also sends out ppurs, one striking northward from 
section 35. and another, also northward, from 
section 31 in the eastern of the two townships 
shown. The spur striking north from section 35 
divides the Itasca basin into two parts, the west- 
ern furnishing the feeders of the south-western 
arm of the lake, and the eastern furnishing the 
single feeder of the south-eastern arm. It is not 
an unbroken ridge of hills, nor are these spurs 
perfectly defined ; but they are, rather, groups 
and successions of hills, with the general direc- 
tion given above. There is also a marked differ- 
ence in the character of the springs of these two 
parts of the Itasca basin. The western bowl fur- 
nishes the feeders that are steady and constant 
during the year, and the largest feeder lies at the 
extreme western edge of this bowl. The eastern 
bowl furnishes a single feeder, which is probably 
nearly dry parts of the year. It is thus evident 
that the western streams are fed mainly by living 
springs, artesian in their character, being sup- 
plied by water which comes through the strata of 
the earth from ponds to the west and south, some 
of them, perhaps, miles away. The single stream 
of the south-eastern arm simply drains the bowl 
in which it flows, and while in the rainy season 
it ma}' be quite a torrent, part of the year it is 
comparatively dry. I regard this as important in 
determining the ultimate sources of the waters of 
the upper Mississippi, it being evident that all the 
water which flows into the river from Lake Itasca 
is either surface drainage or comes from reser- 
voirs and ponds which lie between tho head 
waters of the Mississippi and the head waters of 
the Red River. To the north the elevation of the 
crest of the Height of Land varies from 150 to 250 
feet above the level of Lake Itasca. In tho west- 
ern half of section 21 tho height is about 200 feet ; 
in sections 28 and 33 it rises to 225 and 250 feet ; 
in section 34 it is 250 feet in the west part of the 
section, and 200 feet in the eastern ; 175 feet in 
section 26, In 6e<;tion 23 the height is 100 feet, 
sloping gradually to 75 feet in section 14. The 
knoll in the western part of section 22 is 150 feet 



OF THE SOURCE OF TIJF MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 



n 



above the level of tlie lake. To the north, alonp: 
the border of Elk Lake, the ridge is 90 feet higli. 
Just south of the lake marked D the elevation is 
120 feet, and just noi'th of the lake marked E it is 
100 feet. These data are suflScient to show the 
irregular and broken character of the land in this 
region. 

BETWEEN ELK AX1> ITASCA LAKES. 

Oiie of the most interesting jjarts of our work 
was the survey and examination of the narrow 



would at thia point be within 100 feet of each 
other. The highest i)oint on the trail between 
the two lakes is 13 feet. The ridge extends to 
the outlet of Elk Lake, from which point Luke 
Itasca is in full view. Another hill rises to the 
east of the outlet, leaving an opening Vi feet wide, 
through which the stream flows with a rapid cur- 
rent, in a channel G feet wide and G inches deep. 
The balance of the land between the two lakes, 
on either side of the creek, is a tamarack 
swamp. 



SKETCH MAP 

OF 

LAND BETAVEEN LAKE ITASaSc 
AND ELK LATvE. 

1886. 




strip of land between Lake Itasca and Elk Lake. 
We found it to be 350 feet wide at the narrowest 
point between the lakes, and 520 feet measuring 
along the crooked trail at the base of the knoU. 
The lakes run nearly parallel for 1,020 feet, and 
the strip of land contains in all about 10 acres. 

The portion shown as billy on the plat is a small 
mound-like elevation, nearly devoid of all timber, 
which rises with a gradual slope south from Lake 
Itasca to a height of 33 feet, and descends abruptly 
to the shore of Elk Lake. Its direction between 
the lakes is nearly east and west. Its height 
above Lake Itasca at its western base is 10 feet, 
where it is less than 100 feet wide ; and thus, if 
each lake were a little higher in elevation, they 



THE OnTLET OF y.T.K LAKE. 

The outlet of Elk Lake flows nearly north-east 80 
feet, and enters the tamarack swatnp, where its 
general direction is north for 600 feet, until it 
reaches a point within 110 feet of Lake Itasca. 
It then curves back toward Elk Lake, and finally 
enters Lake Itasca, its whole course from Elk 
Lake measuring 1,084 feet. Where it debouches 
into Lake Itasca, it is 7 feet wide and 8 inches 
deep. We noted its width at numerous places 
in its course, and found it to vary from 6 to 12 
feet, and its depth from 2 to 8 inches. It gams 
nothing from springs along its route, and its 
increased width and depth are caused by back 



12 



REPORT OF THE 1. B. T. & CO. EXPLORATION 



water from Lake Itasca. It is a very pretty little 
stream, and has been cleared out by the Indians, 
who go there annually and place fish-traps to 
catch the fish that run between the two lakes. 
The difference in elevation between the two lakes 
is 1 foot and 1 inch. The stream between the 
two lakes falls G inches between Elk Lake and a 
point where it enters the tamarack swamp, in the 
first hundred feet of its course ; the balance, 7 
inches, measures the fall in its course through 
the tamarack swamp of nearly 1,000 feet. 

OTHER FEEDERS OF ITASCA. 

Leaving this interesting part of the lake for a 
time, I will give some details in regard to the 
other feeders of Itasca. The stream entering 
the south-east arm, as above remarked, is evi- 
dently quite variable in its character. At times, 
apparently, it is very shallow ; but after heavy 
rains it is quite a torrent, and drains the lakes 
which form during the wet season, marked Q, R, 
and <S. When the stream is at its best, it is fully 
6 feet wide and a foot deep. The stream entering 
Lake Itasca at a is merely a sluggish creek, drain- 
ing the iiiarsli to the northward in sections 2, 8, 10, 
11. The stream entering at h rises in a swamp on 
section 16, and is joined by a branch in section 
15, which rises in section 10. There are numer- 
ous springs along its course, and it is 8 feet wide 
and a foot deep at its mouth, discharging as much 
water into Lake Itasca as the outlet of Elk Lake 
does. The inlet at c is a small brook, 2 feet wide 
and a foot deep, that rises in a swamp less than a 
quarter of a mile from the lake. 

NICOLLET'S CREEK. 

This brings me to the largest feeder of the lake, 
the one entering at d. It is 16 feet wide and 2t 
feet deep at the place where it enters into Itasca, 
and is the stream mentioned by Nicollet, in his 
report of his explorations in 1836, as "the one re- 
markable above the others, inasmuch as its course 
is longer and its waters more abundant ; so that, 
in obedience to the geographical rule that the 
sources of a river are those that are most distant 
from its mouth, this creek is truly the infant Mis- 
sissippi ; the others below, its feeders and tribu- 
taries." The ex[)loration of this stream was the 
most complicated and difficult of our undertak- 
ings, and it was with considerable difficulty that 
we were able to identify the three lakes which 
Nicollet describes ; but while on the ground, and 
after the most careful study of the problem, we 
came to the conclusion that Nicollet's three lakes 
were those marked on the map as A, B, and C. 
At first sight, it would seem, from Nicollet's de- 



scription, that these could not be the ones he re- 
ferred to ; and I have given much study to the 
points involved, endeavoring to reconcile his de- 
scriptions wiih some other theory. We followed 
the stream to the first lake at the edge of the hills 
and through the swamps ; and the course of the 
brook is two miles in length, and seemed like 
four. Distances on the ground double up very 
fast when one follows crooked streams, as you 
will remember when you compare the length of 
the stream between Elk Lake and Lake Itasca 
(1,084 feet) with the actual distance between the 
two lakes (350 feet). If we add to the actual 
length of the course of the stream from the lake 
A to its outlet at d, Avhich is in reality 2 miles, 
the difficulties that Nicollet encountered in wad- 
ing through the tamarack marsh, we can easily 
believe that this is the course which he describes 
as 'two or three miles' in length. His report 
makes the distance between the fii'st and second 
lakes comparatively short, and that between the 
second and third lakes still shorter, so that there is 
no other lake which answers the description for the 
third or higher lake but the one marked C 

THE FOUNTAIN HEAD OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 

This, however, is not the source, at the present 
time, from which Nicollet's stream draws its prin- 
cipal supply of water ; and to find that source, af- 
ter considerable exploration, we were obliged to 
go to a lake which has its head in the north-west- 
ern quarter of section 34. This is the utmost 
source and fountain head of the water flowing 
north into Lake Itasca. The lake itself is fed by 
numerous springs along its borders, and its sur- 
face is 92 feet above the level of Lake Itasca. 
The small inlet from the lake marked / was dry 
when we visited it, but water runs through it in 
the wet season. The hills south rise from 20 to 
160 feet high, and water has never flowed over 
them northward. It might be interesting to 
know how far it flows under them. It is cer- 
tain that it does, but there is no way to trace its 
course or distance. All the streams in this part 
of the basin rise in springs in tamarack swamps, 
which undoubtedly are fed by water percolating 
under the hills from lakes and swami)s beyond ; 
and no doubt the group of lakes, U, V, W, and 
X, in the southern jiart of sections 33, 34, and 35, 
which spread out to a considerable extent in sec- 
tions 3, 4, and 5 of the townships next south, are 
the reservoirs which feed a number of these 
springs. Beginning with the lake marked H, 
it spreads northwax'd nearly half a mile. At its 
northern end the water flows out of this lake in a 
stnam H feet wide and 1 foot deep, and, run- 



OF THE SOUIiCK OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 



13 



ning west about 200 feet, empties into u small lake 
about 2 acres iu extent, marked Q. Tins lake 
connects with another of the same size about 20 
feet to the west of it. 

UNDERGROUND CHANNELS. 

At the time we were there, both ponds were 
full of moss and bogs, and apparently almost 
dried up, the abundant inflow of water running 
out by underground passages as fast as it came 
in ; but botli lakes show that at some seasons of 
the year they contain 4 feet more of water, caused 
by the increased flow in the springtime and in 
the rainy season. At that time the underground 
passages are not large enough to carry the water 
olf, and so it accumulates and the ponds fill up. 
Apparently they once had a surface outlet which 
is now closed by a beaver dam. The water flow- 
ing from the two lakes feeds the two springs 
numbered 3 and 5. Proceeding to the spring- 
marked 5, we find the water bubbling up and 
flowmg away in a rapid, lively stream, in a direc- 
tion generally northward. It is fed by springs 
along its course until it reaches the extreme 
south-western corner of section 22, where it is 2+ 
feet wide and 8 inches deep, and discharges into 
a small pond of about 5 acres in extent. This 
pond is the most remarkable one in the course of 
the stream ; it has no surface outlet, and, from 
the formation of the land about it, apparently has 
never been any larger than it now is ; but, 
with the large volume of water flowing into it, 
we perceive that it must, of course, have a steady 
and sufficient outlet underground. This we found 
to be toward the west, where it bursts forth in an 
immense spring or pool, marked 2, in the extreme 
south-eastern quarter of section 21. The lowest 
point on the hill between the pond and the spring 
is 12 feet above the level of the pond ; and the 
water, dropping underground, bubbles up in the 
swamp 200 feet away and 38 feet below that level. 
You will notice that the stream thus passes under- 
ground from section 22 into section 21, and is there- 
fore invisible to one following up the course of the 
section line, — a fact which will be referred to again 
in a latter portion of this I'eport. Proceeding from 
the spring marked 2, the water flows in a north- 
w^esterly direction, and empties into the lake 
marked B, — the second one of Nicollet's chain of 
lakes. The outlet of this lake is on the west side, 
a stream 3 feet wide and a foot deep, which is 
joined at a short distance by another from the 
south. Following up the stream, which joins the 
main one on section 21, we find it rises on section 
28 at a spring marked 3, evidently fed by an 
underground passage from the pond F. These 



streams are re-enforced throughout their course 
by springs which ooze from the bases of the hills 
that line the tamarack swamps ; so that, when 
the creek leave-s lake A, it flows with a brisk cur- 
rent 12 feet wide and 1 foot deep, which is further 
re-enforced by numerous springs all the way to 
Lake Itasca. At the point of its discliarge into 
the lake, it is a broad, well-defined stream, 16 
feet wide, and 2i feet deep at its deepest point. 
Lake A is ten feet above the level of Lake Itasca. 

nicoluet's three lakes. 

Recurring to the subject of Nicollet's three 
lakes, I recall the fact that Nicollet states, that, 
at a small distance from the heights where the 
head waters originate, they unite to form a small 
lake, from which the Mississippi issues with a 
breadth of H feet and a depth of 1 foot. '■'■ At no 
great distance, however,'^ so Nicollet says, "this 
rivulet rmiting with other streamlets, supplies a 
second minor lake," so we were obliged to look for 
the u{)j)er of the three lakes at a reasonably short 
distance from the lake B. If the spring, num- 
bered 2, would fill the bill as a lakelet, it would 
meet all the other requirements of the case per- 
fectly. The only alternative .seemed to me to be 
the lake marked C At present the outlet of 
this lake is obstnicted by two beaver dams, and 
no water flows from it except what little may 
percolate under these obstructions. Its principal 
feeder, marked m, rises in a spring in section 27, 
and is also nearly dry, but there is a small amount 
of water flowing through its channel. I leave it 
to you, or to future cxjilorers, to settle the ques- 
tion as between the spring 2 and the pond C. 

ELK lake and its FEEDERS. 

There are four small streams flowing into Elk 
Lake. The first one rises in a spring, the outlet 
of which flows into a small pond 50 feet in diame- 
ter in the north-western quarter of section 34. 
It leaves this pond a brooklet G inches wide and 2 
inches deep, and flows with a rapid current to the 
centre of section 37. where it is joined by another 
and larger branch coming from a tamarack 
swamp in the south-eastern quarter of section 27. 
At the point where it flows into Elk Lake it is 2 
feet wide and 6 inches deep. The elevation of the 
source of this stream at the spring marked 10 is 
88 feet above Elk Lake and 89 above Lake Itasca. 
The largest stream flowing into Elk Lake rises in 
the north-western quarter of section 26 in a spring 
marked 13. This is joined, at a short distance 
from its soiu'ce, by another branch, which is sup- 
plied by a small lake in section 26, marked A^. 
The outlet of this lake is by an underground cur- 



14 



REPORT OF TEE I. B. T. & 00. EXPLORATION 



rent, it being closed by a beaver dam ; but water 
has flowed out by a surface outlet at some period, 
perhaps at the time of Nicollet's visit. Where 
the main stream enters Elk Lake it is 3 feet wide 
and a foot deep. This lakelet N in section 26, and 
its outlet, were to me among the most interesting 
things found in this region. To my mind they 
prove conclusively that Nicollet not only explored 
Elk Lake, but also its feeders. Referring to the 
copy of his larger map, which you sent me, I find 
just such a lake laid down at the head of a small 
stream flowing into Elk Lake from the south-east. 
This is the most important feeder of Elk Lake, 
just as Nicollet indicates it to be. The other two 
streams flowing into Elk Lake are quite small, 
and originate as shown on the map. We found a 
dry channel between the lake M and Elk Lake. 
No water was flowing from this lake, although it 
probably does discharge some water in the spring 
and when the water is high. In measuring the 
amount of water supplied by the various tributa- 
ries of Lake Itasca, we found the three streams 
discharging at h, d, and c, furnishing practically 
aU the perennial water-supply of the south-western 
arm of the lake ; and of this I would estimate 
that Nicollet's creek furnishes f, and the other 
two, each about \. 

THE WORK OF THE GOVERNMENT SURVEY. 

It was an important part of our task to observe 
the posts and blazings left by the government sur- 
veyors, and we carefully ran the main lines with 
the view of detecting any errors that they might 
have made. In this part of their work, and also 
in meandering of the two lakes, our examination 
proved their work to be correct in every material 
point. A singular mistake, ho%vever, on the gov- 
ernment i)lat, is easily accounted for. The course 
of the stream from lake H until it crosses the south 
line of section 23 is substantially correct as laid 
down on the government map : but, when they ran 
the line between sections 21 and 23, this stream 
was not crossed again, and they naturally sup- 
posed it ran due north through the western edge 
of section 22, and that the stream flowing out of 
section 21 into 22 was a branch running into the 
main stream ; whereas this is the main stream, 
which, passing westward under their feet into 
section 21 by an outlet which tiiey did not see be- 
cause it %vas imderground, takes its course through 
the eastern part of section 21, and crosses into 
section 22 again at the point where the govern- 
ment surveyors had indicated a feeder to the 
main stream. The two small lakes C and D on 
section 22, and the two A and B on section 21, 
would not be crossed by a section line : hence 



they were not indicated by the surveyors. At 
a point where the section line bet%veen sections 21 
and 28 crosses the branch of the spring flowing 
out of section 28, the course of the stream is 
through a boggy swamp, and it would hardly be 
noticed as the stream without going a consider- 
able distance north or south of the section line ; 
hence it is not shown on the government maps, 
but in i^lace of it is shown a marsh. In all other 
resjiects the work of the government surveyors is 
well done. Their business was to establish sec- 
tion comers, blaze lines between the sections, note 
all lakes intercepted by the section lines, meander 
lakes of more than 40 acres in extent, note streams 
crossed and indicate their apparent direction, etc. 
Trifling errors will creep into their work ; but, 
when we take into consideration the difficulties 
they have to contend with, it is not to be won- 
dered at. 

Another part of the duty of the government 
surveyors is to indicate the names of streams and 
bodies of water, and, in case no modern name has 
been given to them, to retain the Indian name or 
its English translation. Following this rule, the 
name of Lake Itasca, being generally accepted, 
was retained. 

With regard to the name of Elk Lake, Mr. Hall, 
who was the chief of the surveying party of 1875, 
recently told me that when he was surveying 
township 143 N., range 36, he met an Indian 
trapper at Lake Itasca, who had made this 
region his trapping-ground for years. He asked 
him the Indian name of Lake Itasca and Elk 
Lake, and the Indian gave him the name of 
* Omushkos,' or ' Elk,' for the lake in section 22, 
and another name, which Mr. Hall has forgotten, 
for Itasca. As Lake Itasca had a name already, 
he simply recommended to the surveyor-general 
the name ' Elk Lake ' for the other body. But the 
Indians are by no means agreed upon the designa- 
tion for these lakes. They certainly gave Mr. 
Schoolcraft the name ' Omushkos ' for Lake 
Itasca, and to Mr. Gilfillan, ' Gabukegumag ' for 
Elk Lake. The latter term signifies ' water that juts 
oflf to one side ' of another lake ; that is, branches 
or projects out from it like the fingers from the 
hand. 

Other travellers have found still other designa- 
tions applied by the Indians to these lakes. Sur- 
veyor-general Baker, in fixing the name finally to 
be applied to the lake, considered, that, whether 
'Omushkos' was the original designation of Elk 
Lake or of Lake Itasca, it was worth while, in 
the absence of any otlier fitting name, to retain 
that designation for the lake which was not yet 
named. I am certainly of the opinion that the 
name should stand. 



OF THE SOURCE OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 



15 



NICOLLET'S MAP, ETC. 

It is fitting to say a few words in regard to 
Nicollet's map and possible changes, past and 
future, in the Itascan region. Careful investiga- 
tion along tlie shores of Tiake Itasca shows plainlj- 
that some time in the past it has been 9 inches 
higher than it is at tho present. This rise would 
be sufficient to overflow all that portion of tho 
land shown as tamarack on the plat of land be- 
tween Elk Lake and Lake Itasca, and back tho 
water up to the narrow strip of high land on tho 
outskirt of Elk Lake, thus bringing the lakes 
within 80 feet of each other. Whether this was 
the case when Nicollet was there, I will not at- 
tempt to answer. His map would seem to indi- 
cate that it was, by the fact that he shows the two 
lakes so closely connected. Elk Lake so much 
smaller than it is, and the two arms of Itasca so 
much out of proportion with tlieir present out- 
line. But this can readily be accounted for ou 
other grounds. The shores of the south-eastern 
arm are abrupt and bluffy, while the shores of 
the south-western arm are low and swampy. This 
makes the south-western arm look wider than it 
is, and the south-eastern aim narrower than it is. 
The shores of Elk Lake are also abrupt and lined 
with bluflfs, and to one looking south across it, it 
does not look half as large as it does to one stand- 
ing on the hills south of it and looking north. 
Distances across water are always deceiving. The 
view from different points of Lake Itasca might 
be sketched by a dozen different parties, and no 
two sketches would look alike. My impression is, 
that Nicollet sketched the south-eastern arm of 
Lake Itasca from some point on its western shore 
and Elk Lake, and the south-western arm of 
Itasca from the knoUbetween the lakes ; and when 
we take into consideration how insignificant is the 
distance between the two lakes, compared to the 
total lengtli cf both, it can readily be understood 
why he has shown them as though EUc Lake were 
a bay instead of a separate body of water. From 
the nature of the springs which feed the principal 
stream emptying into Lake Itasca, it is evident 
that very few changes have taken place in that 
part of the basin since Nicollet was there, and 
very few will take place in the next fifty years. 
The springs that feed it are supplied b\' under- 
ground currents and reservoirs from the lakes and 
the Height of Land, and, as they cannot bedrained, 
no amount of settlement or clearing will change 
them. They are among the permanent featiues 
of the country. Lake Itasca of to-day is the same 
m its main features that it was when Nicollet was 
there, and for a hundred years before. Its level 
may have been a little higher, tho siurface of Elk 



Lake may have been a littlo lower, Itasca may 
have spread out over some acres more of marsh. 
Elk Lake may have been somewhat smaller in its 
surface extent ; thus they may have come more 
nearly together, and nearer to being one continu- 
ous body of water. But the main features of 
this remarkable basin will remain the same for 
generations to come, and Liike Itasca will bo then, 
as it is now, the first important reservoir of all the 
springs that food the head waters of the Mississippi 
River. 

OBSERVATIONS. 

Our meteorological observations were taken 
with an effort at system ; but it is sufficient, per- 




ITASCA LAKE AND VICINITY. FACSIMILE COPY OF NICOLLET'S 
MAP DEPOSITED IN THE OFFICE OP ENGINEEr.S, U.S.A., lSGG-37. 



haps, to say that the atmospheric temperature 
varied from 20 to 70 degrees during the five days 
that we were at Lake Itasca, and that we had the 
extremes of clear weather and invigorating at- 
mosphere, and of desolate, soaking rain. The 
severest storm overtook us when we were within 
5 miles of Lake Itasca, and we passed a most 
unenviable night in an improvised camp. We 
took tho temperature of the water in Elk Lake 
and Lake Itasca when the temperature of the 



16 



REPORT OF THE I. B. T. & CO. EXPLORATION. 



atmosphere was 51° F., the temperature of tlie 
water being 46°. The temperature of the water 
in the second lake on Nicollet's creek was 42*^. 

MISHAPS. 

Among the mishaps wliich invariably attend 
such explorations, were two that are worthy of 
note, — the loss of my revolver, and the leaving 
behind, unaccountably, of my copy of the 
Nautical almanac. I had intended taking the 
latitude of the northern end of Elk Lake, and 
aiso establishing a meridian and noting the exact 
variation between the true and magnetic meridian; 
but when I got on the ground, of course this was 
impossible without my tables. Still worse luck 
followed the observations with the barometer. I 
had arranged with Sergeant Lyon, of the U.S. 
signal service at St. Paul, to take simultaneous 
readings of the barometer. The instruments were 
adjusted together when we set out for Itasca, but, 
when we got back to St. Paul, mine read 200 feet 
higher than his. As there was no way of 
determining when this change occurred, all that 
work was of no account. As our first observa- 
tions were taken at 6 a.m., and the last at 10 p.m., 
they involved considerable sacrifice of rest, which 
I am sorry yielded so little result. 

The figures given in the first part of this report 
for (he elevation of the crest of the Height of Land 
are therefore necessarily only approximate, as the 
variation in my aneroid barometer destroyed the 
value of my observations, on which I largely 
depended for this part of my work. The heights 
noted for elevations between the lakes and for the 
springs and streams were obtained by the drain- 
age-level, and these may be relied upon as practi- 
cally correct. 

FAVORABLE CONDITIONS. 

I considered it very fortunate that our trip was 
made just at the end of a long spell of dry 
w eather such as has hardly been known in Min- 
nesota for years. This enabled us to judge of the 
sources of water-supply that are perennial in their 
fiow, as distinguished from the surface drainage 
in the spring and in the rainy seasons. The rain 
of the night before vve reached the lake was 



not enough materially to disturb these condi- 
tions. 

IN HONOR OF NICOLLET. 

The last thing we did before leaving our camp 
between the lakes was to erect on the top of the 
little knoll, in plain view from both lakes and 
from Schoolcraft Island on the north, a monument 
to the memory of Nicollet, on which was in- 
scribed the following: "To the memory of 
J. N. Nicollet, who discovered the source of the 
Mississippi River, August 2Q, 1836." This was 
done after fully exploring the country for miles 
around ; and our little party of three was fully 
satisfied that fifty years ago Nicollet had dis- 
covered all there was to discover of the sources 
of the Mississippi ; and that if he had lived to 
complete his report on ' The sources of the 
IVIississippi and the North Red rivers,' and to 
give to the world his unpublished map, there 
would have been no chance for any Glazier 
to confuse the geographical world, or to play 
tricks upon the learaed societies of two continents. 
We found our work difficult enough, though we 
were only a day's ride from civilization and the 
railroad, and tliough the whole township had 
been marked off and blazed at every turn by the 
government surveyors. AVhat, then, must have 
been the heroism of the invalid devotee of science, 
who buried himself for months in the unbroken 
wilderness, and gave his life to the exploration of 
the frontiers of his adopted country ! 

CONCLUSION. 

I have done my work without any prejudice or 
bias, and determined only upon finding out and 
stating the truth in regard to the sources of the 
great river of our continent whose exploration 
has commanded the service of so many worthy 
men in every period of our history. 

As a preparation for the survey, I had read every 
thing I was able to gather on the subject, and I 
took with me tracings of all the maps of the 
region, either published or to be found in the 
government departments. The work has been 
done by actual survey, and in such a way that I 
believe it will bear investigation by any surveyor 
who wishes to check it. 

Hopewell Clarke. 

Mlnneai)0li8, Miuu., Dec. 7, 1886. 



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